


the romanoff-stark reunion

by trappedoutside124



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Trailer, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 07:41:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18516976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trappedoutside124/pseuds/trappedoutside124
Summary: A short take on what the Romanoff-Stark reunion could look like in Endgame.





	the romanoff-stark reunion

When Tony arrived back on Earth, Natasha was sure that she was dreaming. 

The dirty, broken ship bounced its way through the atmosphere and crashed onto the grass outside the Avengers compound, kicking up dirt and mud. Rocket--the talking raccoon who Natasha was still very wary of--had bolted out of the compound doors toward it. "It's my friends!" he exclaimed, leaping towards the ship with the others close behind, "It's my team!" 

First, a tall, robotic woman had limped her way off the ship. "Nebula! My God it's good to see you. Where's Quill?" Rocket laughed, running up to her. Nebula just looked at him and shook her head with no trace of emotion. Rocket's shoulders sagged. "No, no, no, no," he groaned, bounding into the ship to see for himself. Then, Nebula pulled a wounded Tony out from behind her. 

Rhodes, Steve, Thor, Bruce, Pepper, and Nat all sucked in a breath, eyes widening and hearts expanding. "Holy shit," Natasha said to no one in particular. Quickly, she was nudged aside as Pepper made her way to Tony. One of his eyes was swollen shut and there was dried blood and dirt caked on his arms and face. He was leaning his weight onto Nebula and dragging one of his legs behind him. But when he looked up and saw Pepper, he quickly pushed off of her and opened up his arms. Pepper fell straight into them, sob ripping itself out of her chest. Tony just closed his eyes and breathed. 

Nebula, not one for theatrics, quickly tugged on Tony's shirt. "Come on, Stark. We need to get you proper medical attention." 

"She's right. Let's get you into the med bay," added Rhodes. He put one arm under Tony and Pepper took the other side. Together, they helped him walk back towards the compound. Rocket had emerged from the ship and collapsed onto the stairs, his head in his paws. Thor walked over and sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Natasha, Steve, and Bruce stayed where they were. 

Natasha could see Steve chewing on his lip--one of his nervous ticks. He was staring after Tony with his brows furrowed. Natasha walked up beside him and nudged his shoulder. "I know how you feel," she said. Her heart was racing, too. 

"Is this the first time you two have seen him since whatever happened between you guys?" Bruce asked. Steve only nodded, still silently chewing his lip. Bruce sighed. "It's time to make up. Now more than ever the world's gonna need you two to be at least on speaking terms." He turned and headed inside, leaving only Natasha and Steve on the lawn. 

"What if he doesn't want to see us, Nat," Steve finally said, looking down at her. "God, if I were him I wouldn't want to see me." 

"If he doesn't, then that's okay. We just have to let him know that we're sorry and we're there. Both of us made mistakes--us and Tony. Okay?" Steve nodded but Natasha could tell that he remained unconvinced. "C'mon, let's go back inside. I'm cold." 

Pepper and Rhodes met up with Carol Danvers who was waiting for them inside. They put Tony into one of the medical suites in the compound, Bruce hooking him up to an IV as quick as possible. As soon as his head hit the pillow, Tony was out like a light. Exhaustion overtook him. Nebula stayed by his side for a few minutes after he fell asleep before abruptly standing up. "Where is Rocket? I need to see him," she said in a flat tone. 

"Here, he's this way. I'll show you where," Rhodes replied, leaving Pepper alone with Tony. 

For two whole days, Pepper stayed put next to Tony's side. She'd leave for two minutes at a time to get food, or shower, or call for Bruce to come check up on him. The other Avengers periodically came to say hello and see if Tony was awake. Usually, however, he was sleeping. He would wake up for half an hour, confused and scared at first, and then calm down when he saw Pepper. She'd force him to eat something and drink something, and then he'd pass out again. 

After three days, Natasha finally worked up the courage to go see Tony. Steve still wasn't ready; not only that, but he was busy making plans and preparations with Danvers to try and do something about Thanos. With Tony down for the count, Steve had to do double the work. And while Natasha would usually be at his side, she found that her mind was always on the medical suite where Tony was. So, one night, she decided to go see him. 

Natasha, not thinking anyone else would be awake, crept out of her room and headed downstairs to where Tony was staying. She could see the dim light of his room illuminating an otherwise dark hallway. Inside through one of the windows she could see Pepper curled up in the chair next to his bed, sleeping soundly. Moving before she could lose her nerve, Natasha slowly pushed open the door to Tony's hospital room. 

Pepper stirred and cracked open one of her eyes and the sound. When she saw Natasha, she sat up straight in the chair. "Natasha?" she said, confused. 

"Hey, boss," Natasha said with a shy smile. The two of them hadn't talked much since the group from Wakanda returned to New York. Natasha only spoke to her to ask where her room was and if Tony was alive. Truthfully, Pepper was just as hurt as Tony was when Natasha left with Steve. Pepper always assumed that if anything went down between the Avengers, she could count on Nat to be a rock and a middle ground. When Natasha chose Steve, it cut Pepper deeply. Presently, she was staring at Natasha with a mix of suspicion, confusion, and drowsiness. 

"I just--" Natasha started, unsure of what to do next. She cleared her throat and began again. "I wanted to see if Tony was awake." 

"Well, he's not," Pepper said, standing up and folding the blanket behind her. "He's asleep right n--" 

"No, I'm not," croaked Tony from his hospital bed, causing both women to jump. He rubbed his eyes groggily and pushed himself up in bed. Pepper gave him a kiss, handing him a water bottle. Tony gulped it down quickly and set it next to him. Then, he set his eyes on Natasha. 

"Pepper, can you give us a minute?" Tony asked, eyes never leaving Nat's. Pepper bit her lip and looked from Tony to Natasha and back again. Finally, she sighed. 

"I could use a shower. I'll be gone 15 minutes tops, I promise," Pepper replied, pointedly speaking in Natasha's direction. She gave Tony one more kiss before slipping out the door. When the door shut with a click, silence fell over the room. 

"Please, sit." Tony said, gesturing to the now empty chair. "Welcome to my humble abode. It's much better than a space ship, I'll tell you that." Natasha smiled and sat down, pushing a strand of white blonde hair behind her ear. The silence fell over them again. 

"Tony, I--"

"Look, Nat--"

Both of them stopped awkwardly and smiled. "You first. It hurts to talk still," Tony said. Natasha took a deep breath. 

"Tony, I am so, so, _so_ sorry for how things went down. When I left, I thought I had no other choice. The government was looking for me and my whole life I'd been trained to run and hide and so that's what I did. Being with Steve seemed like the safer option for me." 

"No, no, I get it. He's much more handsome than me, so I know you'd choose him," Tony said sarcastically. Natasha rolled her eyes and smiled. Tentatively, she reached out and took one of Tony's hands in her own. 

"I missed you, boss." 

"I missed you too, Romanoff," Tony said seriously. His eyes shifted away from her towards the door nervously. "Is Rogers here, too? I vaguely remember seeing his impeccable jawline when I was being dragged from the space ship." 

"Yeah, he's here. He's...occupied." Natasha told him. Tony continued to look away from Natasha. 

"I'm scared to see him, too, you know." 

"He's really sorry, Tony." 

"So am I." Tony looked back towards Natasha and sighed. "So, what's with the new hair? Red just wasn't working for you?" 

Natasha laughed. "It was either this or a buzz cut."

"Yeah, you bald would be a terrifying sight." 

"I'd scare you no matter what kind of hair I have, Stark." 

"You're not wrong." 

For the next ten minutes, the two of them laughed and reminisced, talking about everything except what Thanos had done to Tony on Titan. Natasha knew that it must have been bad because she could see the lack of light in Tony's eyes and could hear the hollow emptiness of his laugh. Something had changed in space and he wasn't the same man. But then again, Natasha hadn't seen him in two years; he was bound to be different somehow. 

When Pepper came back to the two of them laughing, she stopped before she could open the door. Tony was obviously ranting about something to Natasha, who had her legs tucked up under her and her chin resting in her hands. Pepper caught her eye. Natasha waited for Pepper to come in and tell her it was time to go, that Tony had to rest, that the two of them would never trust her again and she had to leave pronto. Instead, Pepper gave her a subtle nod and a smile, and then turned and went back towards the master bedroom. Natasha knew that she had a long way to go to repair her relationship with Pepper, but she was willing to go the distance. Slowly, she was moving in the right direction. 

When Pepper came back the next morning, she found Tony fast asleep and Natasha curled up in the chair next to him just like she'd been hours earlier. Carefully, Pepper grabbed a blanket and threw it over the blonde. Then, she headed upstairs to the kitchen to make herself the first proper breakfast she'd had in three days. 

For now, all was well.

**Author's Note:**

> Idk i couldnt sleep and just reeeaaaaally want the two of them to be friends again


End file.
